Wednesday, November 10, 2010
The Simpsons
Here are some of our examples of parodies, satire statements, and puns used in the film, The Simpsons.
Parody
Titanic- During Green Day's concert the stage they were playing on sunk in the same fashion as the Titanic did. Then they pulled out their violins and cellos and played the theme song to their deaths.
Spiderman- Homer named his pig "Spiderpig" and held him up to the ceiling and had him walk upside down.
Harry Potter- Homer then changed his name to "Harry Plopper" and put some glasses on him.
Satire
When they were trying to get out of the dome, Mike Tyson came up and tried punching through the dome. "below the belt"
"Black is the worst color"..."Sorry there Carl"
Maggie broke her baby bottle to use it as a weapon.
Pun
The bar in Alaska was named "Eski-moes."
Dome-Depot
Parody
Titanic- During Green Day's concert the stage they were playing on sunk in the same fashion as the Titanic did. Then they pulled out their violins and cellos and played the theme song to their deaths.
Spiderman- Homer named his pig "Spiderpig" and held him up to the ceiling and had him walk upside down.
Harry Potter- Homer then changed his name to "Harry Plopper" and put some glasses on him.
Satire
When they were trying to get out of the dome, Mike Tyson came up and tried punching through the dome. "below the belt"
"Black is the worst color"..."Sorry there Carl"
Maggie broke her baby bottle to use it as a weapon.
Pun
The bar in Alaska was named "Eski-moes."
Dome-Depot
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
The Graduate
The Graduate
4/5 stars
As we now move on to the mid-sixties, a time of rebellion and distrust, we now see an influence of that into the entertainment world. The Graduate, directed by Mike Nichols and starring Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft is a prime example of how the times really changed from the fifties to the seventies. The path this film ventured on is one that at that time might have been controversial.
It all begins with a young, awkward lad coming home to celebrate his recent graduation from college. At his graduation party, a family friend, Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft) asks Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) to give her a ride home. After they arrive, she exclaims how she is afraid to be home alone and invites Ben into her house. She says she wants to show him a portrait of her daughter and proceeds to trick him into being locked in the room while she undresses and tries seducing him. Meanwhile Mr. Robinson pulls into the driveway and Ben panics and rushes downstairs to act like nothing happened at all. He then nervously says his goodbyes and heads out of the house. Feeling anxiety about his future as an adult, Benjamin decides to take it easy for awhile. With nothing better to do, he decides to take Mrs. Robinson up on her offer and invites her to the Taft Hotel where they proceed to have a little “fun”. This secretive affair continues until Mr. Braddock convinces Benjamin to take Elaine Robinson (Katharine Ross) out on a date, against his promise he had made to Mrs.Robinson to never see Elaine. Ben then askes her on a date and realizes that he has feeling for her. Mrs.Robinson is livid and tells ben that if he continues she will let her daughter know of there affair. Ben decides he will tell her before Mrs.Robinson can and Elaine does not take it all to well. In response, Elaine moves on and starts to date Carl Smith (Brian Avery). Things between them heat up and they decide to get married. Ben finds out about this and has this idea that him and Elaine are destined for each other. He frantically makes it to the wedding on time and cries out loud for Elaine to run away with him. She does and after a brief quarrel with Elaine’s family members Ben and Elaine escape the church and runaway on an unknown path to their futures. And that is where The Graduate leaves you hanging.
Overall, when you think about it, this film was really an eye opener as far as the boundaries it crossed and how perverted it really was. Especially as a film of that time we are sure that it caused a lot of controversy. It’s kind of a sign of how the times really were back then however, and it displayed a change in the way society presented itself from the fifties to the late sixties. The very interesting and never predicting plot was enough for Evan and I to view it as a film that is worth your time watching. Dennis Hoffman does a brilliant job playing the role of the awkward and very silly Ben Braddock. Not only was The Graduate an important piece of history it was also a well put together, downright funny film and there will surely never be anything like it.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Top Ten Favorite Films
Jordan- This was not the easiest thing to do for me, because there are many different films that could crack the top ten, but this is what I ended up with.1. Coach Carter
2. Space Jam
3. Disturbia
4. Toy Story series
5. Hoosiers
6. Gran Torino
7. Dumb and Dumber
8. Avatar
9. Wild Hogs
10. Slumdog Millionaire
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Citizen Kane
Our rating: 3 out of 5 stars.
In anticipation to the prestigous #1 critics choice film of all time, we were very excited to dive into this film and see what it was all about. Sadly, Evan and I were somewhat disappointed with this film because of our high expectations. However, this film was on top of the game as far as filming techniques and more advanced sound quality. Orson Welles displayed an almost never ending amount of symbolism in his film which kind of seemed too good to be true but did always keep you wondering. The plotline basically consists of a man named Charles Foster Kane, (Orson Welles) a man betrayed by his parents at a very young age for financial gain. He lives his life with prosperity and seems to have all a man can ask for. For a man that has everything, his dying wish are for his mere "Rosebud", leading detectives on a hunt to find out what exactly he meant by his dying words.
So Why "Rosebud"
EA- For Charles's entire life he could have anything that he wished for, except for a few things. He would never get his childhood back that was ripped out from underneath him as a young lad, or get the time with his family back. As a kid he loved to play in the snow with his beloved sled "Rosebud" it was his only link to his childhood.
JC- The great part of this film is the fact that it leaves you thinking as to why Kane uttered "Rosebud" as his death words. Like said in the film by the female reporter, "If you could've found out what Rosebud meant, I bet that would've explained everything," but, one word cannot describe Kane's life. The fact that they leave you hanging is what makes this film the #1 critics choice. However, if you're looking for some high flying, edge of your seat material, this is not for you. As you slowly move through the film finding more and more about Kane's life, you become overly bored and uninterested. SPOILER: Not to mention when you find out that "Rosebud" was simply his childhood sled, it kind of gives you the feeling of, "What was the point?"
In anticipation to the prestigous #1 critics choice film of all time, we were very excited to dive into this film and see what it was all about. Sadly, Evan and I were somewhat disappointed with this film because of our high expectations. However, this film was on top of the game as far as filming techniques and more advanced sound quality. Orson Welles displayed an almost never ending amount of symbolism in his film which kind of seemed too good to be true but did always keep you wondering. The plotline basically consists of a man named Charles Foster Kane, (Orson Welles) a man betrayed by his parents at a very young age for financial gain. He lives his life with prosperity and seems to have all a man can ask for. For a man that has everything, his dying wish are for his mere "Rosebud", leading detectives on a hunt to find out what exactly he meant by his dying words.
So Why "Rosebud"
EA- For Charles's entire life he could have anything that he wished for, except for a few things. He would never get his childhood back that was ripped out from underneath him as a young lad, or get the time with his family back. As a kid he loved to play in the snow with his beloved sled "Rosebud" it was his only link to his childhood.
JC- The great part of this film is the fact that it leaves you thinking as to why Kane uttered "Rosebud" as his death words. Like said in the film by the female reporter, "If you could've found out what Rosebud meant, I bet that would've explained everything," but, one word cannot describe Kane's life. The fact that they leave you hanging is what makes this film the #1 critics choice. However, if you're looking for some high flying, edge of your seat material, this is not for you. As you slowly move through the film finding more and more about Kane's life, you become overly bored and uninterested. SPOILER: Not to mention when you find out that "Rosebud" was simply his childhood sled, it kind of gives you the feeling of, "What was the point?"
Friday, September 24, 2010
Gone With the Wind
Our rating: 2 1/2 out of 5 stars.
Judging by the fact that Gone With the Wind is the number one box office hit of all-time, Evan and I were unfortunately disappointed. Victor Fleming seemed to us to do a very poor job of attempting to get the audiences attention and keep it for the whole 4 hours. If the boring and uninteresting plot wasn't enough, the overdramatic cast came across as rather annoying. Vivien Leigh, who played the part of Scarlett, seemed like she was having an emotional breakdown every other scene. It's not the fact that she was actually having problems, (which is understandable) but the fact that her crying over and over again was very unnecessary and annoying. Not to mention this film moved incredibly slow and seemed to never get anywhere which we noticed through the plot that almost sent us to sleep.
This Romance/ Drama flick all truly began at a food gathering at the Wilkes plantation. Scarlett declared her love for Ashley, only to find out Ashley was already arranged to be married to a family friend, Melanie Hamilton, (Olivia de Havilland). Heartbroken Scarlett is asked for her hand in marriage by Melanie's brother Charles Hamilton, whom she did not love. Charles is then called to war and dies while from sickness, not phasing Scarlett even one bit. Soon, Scarlett realizes that Rhett Butler is interested in her. Scarlett tries to see the true person in Rhett but can't because really she is only interested in his money. After that, Melanie becomes ill while pregnant and makes a promise with Scarlett that she will always look after her child and Ashley. As stated in the film "Why does a girl have to be so silly to catch a husband?" Scarlett displays her desperation for Ashley. Scarlett and Rhett's relationship worsens as time goes on and Rhett begins to turn to alcohol to solve his problems. The movie does end in style though, when Rhett decides to just leave Scarlett by herself.
Overall, for a film of this time, Gone With the Wind, was put together real well as far as special effects and the actual filming. Introducing color to the theater at that time was remarkable to the viewers and people of America flocked to the theaters to see this film. However, the truth is, the film itself seemed to bore the both of us and drag on. It reminded us of the soap operas of today. We just know that we definitely will not willingly watch this film in the near future.
Our rating: 2 1/2 out of 5 stars.
Judging by the fact that Gone With the Wind is the number one box office hit of all-time, Evan and I were unfortunately disappointed. Victor Fleming seemed to us to do a very poor job of attempting to get the audiences attention and keep it for the whole 4 hours. If the boring and uninteresting plot wasn't enough, the overdramatic cast came across as rather annoying. Vivien Leigh, who played the part of Scarlett, seemed like she was having an emotional breakdown every other scene. It's not the fact that she was actually having problems, (which is understandable) but the fact that her crying over and over again was very unnecessary and annoying. Not to mention this film moved incredibly slow and seemed to never get anywhere which we noticed through the plot that almost sent us to sleep.
This Romance/ Drama flick all truly began at a food gathering at the Wilkes plantation. Scarlett declared her love for Ashley, only to find out Ashley was already arranged to be married to a family friend, Melanie Hamilton, (Olivia de Havilland). Heartbroken Scarlett is asked for her hand in marriage by Melanie's brother Charles Hamilton, whom she did not love. Charles is then called to war and dies while from sickness, not phasing Scarlett even one bit. Soon, Scarlett realizes that Rhett Butler is interested in her. Scarlett tries to see the true person in Rhett but can't because really she is only interested in his money. After that, Melanie becomes ill while pregnant and makes a promise with Scarlett that she will always look after her child and Ashley. As stated in the film "Why does a girl have to be so silly to catch a husband?" Scarlett displays her desperation for Ashley. Scarlett and Rhett's relationship worsens as time goes on and Rhett begins to turn to alcohol to solve his problems. The movie does end in style though, when Rhett decides to just leave Scarlett by herself.
Overall, for a film of this time, Gone With the Wind, was put together real well as far as special effects and the actual filming. Introducing color to the theater at that time was remarkable to the viewers and people of America flocked to the theaters to see this film. However, the truth is, the film itself seemed to bore the both of us and drag on. It reminded us of the soap operas of today. We just know that we definitely will not willingly watch this film in the near future.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)